Tom Bradley Legacy Foundation to Honor Mayor Villaraigosa Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the 41st Mayor of the City of Los Angeles and the first Hispanic Mayor in modern times will be following in the footsteps of Mayor Bradley. He stated at his victory celebration, "I am standing here on the shoulders of Tom Bradley..." The Tom Bradley Legacy Foundation has selected Mayor Villaraigosa to be its first recipient of the Tom Bradley Legacy Achievement Award to continue the "impossible dream" of building a world-class city in the Pacific Century.
On Thursday, September 29, at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Mayor Villaraigosa will be surrounded by friends and supporters to continue the vision of creating Los Angeles as the "Jewel of the Pacific."
Click photograph to enlarge:
Maury Weiner, Chairman Tom Bradley Legacy Foundation
Mayor Villaraigosa with Tom La Bonge and Wanda Greuel
Mayor Villaraigosa with Maury Weiner and Chih Hsing Pei
Mayor Villaraigosa Greeting Guests
Mayor Villaraigosa with Ethel Bradley and Maury Weiner
Tom La Bonge, Lorraine and Ethel Bradley, Mayor Villaraigosa, Mrs Villaraigosa and Wendy Greuel
Tom La Bonge, Tom Spiegle, Mayor Villaraigosa, Mrs Villaraigosa and Wendy Greuel
Tom La Bonge, Lorraine and Ethel Bradley, Mayor Villaraigosa, Mrs Villaraigosa, Laura Diaz and Wendy Greuel
Mayor Villaraigosa with Chih Hsing Pei and Bill Bicker
The Foundation has established a Green Technology Institute with a mission to educate and train students, teachers, and adults about creating a sustainable future for their communities. The Green Technology Institute has developed Project Green Phoenix, an after school program that will incorporate online learning, onsite project learning by doing activities, and digital field trips starting in the underperforming schools in South and Northeast Los Angeles. The community colleges and state universities will be involved the development of Project Green Phoenix. Some of the funds raised from the Dinner will provide scholarships for schools to participate in this growing green economic sector.
For information and reservation, call Wanda Moore at 1.888.201.1222 or email: wmoore4035@aol.com.
Legacy eNews - The Official TBLF eZine
We are proud to introduce Legacy eNews, a regular online newsletter feature here in these pages. Legacy eNews contains information on upcoming events as well as completed projects, with corresponding photographs. Also featured are articles from our esteemed contributors; renowned and respected in their various fields.
Tom Bradley the "Impossible Dreamer" and Visionary Leader ...
In 1973, Tom Bradley inspired the Nation when he became the 38th Mayor of Los Angeles. He was the first African American to lead a large urban city for 20 years to build one of the greatest international cities on the Pacific Rim. He believed that the strength of Los Angeles was in its cultural diversity. He took a racially diverse and divided city and through his leadership, made Los Angeles into a thriving, multicultural and dynamic internationally renowned metropolis on the Pacific Rim.
Election Night Victory 1973
(Image courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library)
Today, he is credited for making Los Angeles a Jewel of the Pacific. The World Port Los Angeles, together with the Port of Long Beach, are the busiest ports of the world. The Los Angeles International Airport became the third busiest airport in the U.S. Over 60 million passengers annually pass through the gates at LAX.
His leadership brought the 1984 Summer Olympiad to Los Angeles and he made sure of selecting the right business partners to make the L.A. Olympics one of the most financially successful events in the history of the Olympic Games. With his leadership and determination, Los Angeles was able to welcome Olympians from around the world with their former neighbors who are now Angelinos.
Tom Bradley encouraged the arts and cultures of the world to come to Los Angeles during the Olympics and established the Los Angeles Art Festival, headed by Maureen Kindel and Peter Sellars. The Los Angeles Art Festival and the Los Angeles Street Scene were some of the most successful world art and cultural programs during his tenure. The Museum of Contemporary Arts and the Temporary Contemporary were made possible through his leadership.
(Image courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library)
International Leaders Came to Los Angeles to Meet the Mayor Tom Bradley hosted world leaders from kings, queens, ambassadors, and presidents from throughout the world. The City hosted gala events for the Emperor of Japan and Premier of China that were organized by the local Japanese American and Chinese American communities. He led the battle against Apartheid in South Africa and welcomed Nelson Mandela to Los Angeles. Pope John Paul IV came to Los Angeles and met with Mayor Tom Bradley.
Meeting Chinese Delegation (Image courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library)
Meeting Pope John Paul (Image courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library)
With Ted Kennedy (Image courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library)
Mayor and TV Celebrity, Phyllis Diller (Image courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library)
The Reverend Martin Luther King and Tom Bradley (Image courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library)
Foreign Dignitaries at Century Plaza (Image courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library)
With Muhammad Ali (Image courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library)
With Council General Ping Nan Chang (Image courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library)
Visit of His Excellency Kenneth Kaunda, President of Zambia
Mingling With Gregory Peck and Empress Farah of Iran
National political leaders sought his support and advice. Hollywood celebrities helped to support his favorite charities and causes. He was truly the People's Mayor.
Supporter of the Environment Tom Bradley was a leader in creating a more sustainable city. He saw the importance of building a regional rail rapid transportation network to reduce the pollution and congestion caused by trucks and automobiles. Many leaders argued against building an expensive mass transit system, but this impossible task was started during his first term in office. Today, with gasoline prices rising to $3.00+ a gallon, the transit system has become a necessity for students, seniors, and workers to get around the city.
He encouraged the Tree People to create an Urban Forest Program by planting thousands of trees throughout Los Angeles. With the leadership of Andy Lepkis, the tree project is now is flourishing throughout Southern California.
Annual State of the City Message (Image courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library)
His annual State of the City Message outlined the vision for the future. Tom Bradley understood the importance of tourism from abroad and nationally. He provided the leadership in expanding the Los Angeles Convention center and the revitalization of Hollywood.
The City Hall: A Proud Symbol of a Great City (Image courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library)
Tom Bradley was an historic preservationist. When City Hall was damaged by the Northridge Earthquake, he encouraged the city to restore the city's icon of this great city. Today, the restored City Hall Tower is named after him. When the Central Public Library was destroyed by fire, he made sure that the building was not torn down, but rebuilt into a modern library facility. A wing of the Central Library is named after him.
Tom Bradley, during his over 40 years of public service to the people of Los Angeles, founded the Tom Bradley Legacy Foundation at UCLA, to continue inspiring young and old, to dream big and continue the challenge of making Los Angeles a multicultural American city for generations to come.
Tom Bradley Legacy Foundation to Honor Mayor Villaraigosa
